Written by

Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in Ann Arbor on Feb. 9, 2012. / AP

The NHL today officially gave the ax to the 2013 Winter Classic, canceling the New Year's Day holiday special. As it goes, so does the Winter Festival scheduled for Comerica Park.

The Detroit Red Wings were to have played the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium in an outdoor game expected to draw 120,000 fans.

"It's sad," Wings defenseman Ian White said. "I was really looking forward to playing in that game. I've been looking forward to it since they announced it. I know everyone probably was in the state of Michigan. We were thrilled to have it. It would have been a great event."

Forward Todd Bertuzzi called the news "very disappointing. I think the whole thing is tough for everyone. But this was a focal point for our team and for Toronto, and for our fans."

The NHL has been on hiatus since Sept. 16, when owners locked out players after the NHL and the Players Association could not agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. Last week, the league canceled games through November, cutting a total of 326 games from the 2012-13 matrix.

The Winter Classic requires a tremendous amount of preparation, necessitating a decision sooner rather than later.

"The logistical demands for staging events of this magnitude made today’s decision unavoidable. We simply are out of time,” said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. “We are extremely disappointed, for our fans and for all those affected, to have to cancel the Winter Classic and Hockeytown Winter Festival events.”

While the NHL announced the next Winter Classic -- that is, the Jan. 1, 2014 one -- will feature the same lineup at the same location, losing this season's event still stings.

The Red Wings plan to communicate with their original ticket purchasers by email Tuesday, allowing them to either receive a full refund on tickets and associated fees or maintain their tickets for future Winter Classic and Winter Festival events.

Goalie Jimmy Howard said, "for them to cancel it, it's extremely disappointing. It was going to be a great event, I mean, with the stuff that was going to be happening down in Comerica Park, and then our game at the Big House, I think it was going to be the grandaddy of the Winter Classics."

(Page 2 of 3)

Bertuzzi and Howard were expecting numerous personal fans in the stands.

"I know all my family and friends were very much looking forward to it," Howard said. "So it stinks that it's going to get postponed."

Without a Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, there won't be a Winter Festival in Detroit, either, Wings senior director of communications John Hahn told the Free Press.

That event, scheduled to last two weeks starting mid-December and expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors to Comerica Park to watch games at nearly every level of hockey capped by an alumni double-header, was to have been funded by the NHL. It was part of the deal the Wings made with the league in exchange for having the Winter Classic in Ann Arbor.

“This is an unfortunate announcement but one that looked imminent given the current labor situation between the NHL and its players,” said Dave Brandon, athletic director at the University of Michigan. “We knew this was a possibility but we stayed prepared in the event the labor dispute would get resolved.

“Our relationship with the NHL has been terrific. Both parties have a mutual interest in making the Winter Classic a successful and historical event. We are glad they committed to bring the next game to the Big House, matching the Red Wings and Maple Leafs.”

Affected will be the Great Lakes Invitational college hockey tournament, as well as Grand Rapids Griffins and Plymouth Whalers games, among others.

"I know that my kid's team was playing, too, at Comerica, and then you had the alumni game, which was going to be superb with the amount of talent that both teams had," Bertuzzi said. "I think it's a big loss."

Players are eager to see the game reappear on the 2013-14 schedule.

(Page 3 of 3)

"It was something we were looking forward to doing this year, but if it's not going to happen, it's not going to happen," Johan Franzen said. "But hopefully we might get a carry-over to next year. Hopefully, we can get it then."

The Wings have wanted to be the home team in a Winter Classic since playing in the 2009 iteration against the Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.

"I've always wanted to play in one," Bertuzzi said. "I'd love the experience. In talking with all the guys when they played in Chicago, they said it was an outstanding atmosphere."

The NHL garners a great deal of positive attention for the Winter Classic, including weeks of build-up partly from HBO's 24/7 series chronicling preparations. Having the event besmirched by the inevitable talk of the labor dispute likely also played into the decision to cancel. Most pressingly, by expunging the game before Saturday, the NHL limited the financial loss to a $100,000 deposit.

"This is no fun for anyone, whether you're an owner, fan or player," Howard said. "It's a tough situation. It stinks for everyone."

Contact Helene St. James: 313-222-2295 or hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.